Kuala Lumpur confiscated, believe it or not, 10,000 Bibles. In March, another 5,100 Bibles, imported from Indonesia, were impounded, the Associated Press reports. "[The Bibles] contained the word Allah to refer to God," BBC reported. "The government, which is dominated by Muslim Malays, claims that the word Allah is Islamic. And its use in Bibles could upset Muslims.""Church officials say that the word Allah originated in Arabic," BBC pointed out. "Malays have used it for centuries to refer generally to God. And Arabic-speaking Christians used it before Islam was founded." They are banning bibles meant for Christians in "moderate and modern" Malaysia.

No one blinks when a boiler-plate dictatorship, like North Korea, bans books. But a 21st century Asean member like Malaysia? Penalties for swapping the Lord's name can be three years in the slammer. Or a fine of up to $5,200. Or both. Clamping a patent on the Divinity's name can lead to farce. Kuala Lumpur earlier banned the Bup Kudus. This is the Bible used by Ibans, largest of Sarawak's 27 indigenous groups. It calls God "Allah Taala"—provoking suppression. There's no comparable term in Iban, Christians protested. KL grudgingly scrapped the ban—but only for Ibans.

So where is the broad named, Navi Pillay the United Nations human rights chief,a subservient Dhimmi, doing the biddings of her masters, she criticised a Swiss vote banning minarets, when Malaysia too needs a criticism and maybe a kick up the butt or two. She, is controlled by 57 'Oh I See' countries, where she is blind to atrocities inflicted on minorities in the said 57 countries. Hypocrisy!

Why did the Swiss actually vote to ban the minarets? The surprising vote reveals rather a growing unease in Switzerland, which traditionally has been one of the most open and most tolerant countries of the continent: Many Swiss are worried about the rise of political Islam and religious rules in Europe that are threatening hard-won rights such as equal rights for women and men, the secular rule of law above religion or the right of each individual to decide for him -- or herself. This was fueled by a number of incidents over the last years:

The former Imam of a mosque in Geneva, Hani Ramadan, a Swiss citizen by the way, publicly justified the stoning of adulterers or the punitive amputation of the hand of a thief. Muslim parents prevented their daughters from attending swimming classes, gymnastics or summer camps in public schools because they didn't want their girls to be together with boys. Media reports about forced marriages, female genital mutilations and "honor killings" of Muslim women - all confirmed by authorities or in court -- came as a shocking surprise. A university professor even went as far as to suggest in an official publication of a federal commission to introduce elements of the Sharia, the Muslim legal system, into Switzerland. Not forgetting the PM of "moderate secular" Turkey who actually instigated the whole issue by saying, "Mosques are our barracks, domes our helmets, minarets our bayonets."

Let us look at another "paragon" of human rights, Iran condemns Swiss minaret ban as "Islamophobic act". Is that not hypocrisy, Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini had explained that non-Muslims rank between "feces" and "the sweat of a camel that has consumed impure food." Thus Iran's Zoroastrians, Jews, Mandeans, Christians, and Bahais are subordinated and indeed treated as a fifth column by the revolutionary Islamic Republic. No matter that most of these religious groups were established in Iran before Islam arrived there. They actually conduct religious cleansing enthusiastically, of course the UN and the other Muslim countries turn a blind eye to that.

Another hypocritic nation, Egypt, the gall of Egypt's Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa who lashed out at Switzerland voters' decision to ban minaret construction in the European country on Monday is exactly blatant hypocrisy.Christians in the Arab country have voiced their concern of what they are calling the "hypocrisy" of Egyptian society.They question whether Egypt, which has been forceful in its refusal to allow the construction of churches in recent years, is in a position to criticize the Swiss move. "This proposal…is not considered just an attack on freedom of beliefs, but also an attempt to insult the feelings of the Muslim community in and outside Switzerland," Gomaa added.

But, for Christians in Egypt, they are demanding honesty as critics asunder argument upon argument against the Swiss move, which was not supported by business circles, the government or religious leaders. "I was shocked to hear of what happened in Switzerland, but to be honest, I find it even more strange that Muslim leaders are saying what they are saying when almost the exact same thing happens in Egypt," said Maged Idris, a local pharmacist in Cairo. "They should not be so quick to judge that's all."

Coptic lawyer Naguib Gobrail, a firebrand leader, has voiced his concern over Gomaa and others' statements over the Swiss vote. He said that Egyptians should see the realities of their own country before criticizing the European nation. He argued that until Egypt makes it nearly impossible for new churches to be built, "so why should they have any right to say the things they are saying."

He added that their statements are an "insult to Christians" living in Egypt who have been forced to face "injustice upon injustice over their basic rights." He continued to say that no matter what leaders in the country say, Christians know the truth."We have lived under constant threat for a long time and have been unable to even build our places to worship because the government won't give us the proper permission. Now, Switzerland does something very racist and stupid, but Muslims in this country must understand that they do the same thing to us," Gobrail argued.

Turkey? Aaaah Turkey, The Wall Street Journal story on the Swiss minaret vote had a great quote in it, from a Jamal-on-the-street interview in Turkey (the source of most Muslims in Switzerland):Cavid Aksin, an Istanbul metalworker, was angered that the referendum coincided with the end of one of the most important religious feasts in the Muslim calendar. "I think Turkey should have a referendum on whether to close down its churches," he said.You mean churches like Hagia Sophia? Or the Armenian Church of the Holy Cross? Or the Halki Seminary? After 1,400 years of closing down churches, the gall is unbelievable. National Review

Saved the best for last, our neighbour Indonesian Government: Swiss Ban on New Minarets Unacceptable : The government on Tuesday expressed its disapproval of any action curbing rights of religious observance, specifically the Swiss referendum this week banning the construction of minarets.

Okay, you Indons, how about the following:

Indonesian Theology Students Withstand Threats, Illness JAKARTA, Indonesia, December 1 (CDN) — Some 1,000 seminary students are resisting efforts to evict them from the former municipal building of West Jakarta where they have taken refuge after Muslim protestors drove them from their campus last year. On Oct. 27 officials began ....Published in 2009

Seminary Students in Indonesia Evicted from Two LocationsJAKARTA, Indonesia, October 30 (CDN) — In the past week hundreds of students from Arastamar Evangelical Theological Seminary (SETIA) were evicted from two sites where they had taken refuge after Muslim protestors drove them from their campus last year. With about 700 students ....Published in 2009

Islamists Bully Villagers into Revoking Church PermitJAKARTA, Indonesia, October 26 (CDN) — The regent of Purwakarta regency, West Java has revoked his decision to permit construction of a Catholic worship building in Cinanka village after Islamists threatened residents into withdrawing their approval of the project. Dedi Mulyadi on Oct. ....Published in 2009

Japanese pop culture icon Hello Kitty celebrates her 35th birthday in 2009. And Sanrio has released a video of its design history over the years for the character that charmed the world with its overloaded cuteness…

The Office of Alicante is investigating the holding of a biker party in the province of Alicante Pilar de la Horadada that ended with a peep show, strip included in the presence of several children.

The party in question, organized by the Moto Club 12 +1, Was held on November 15 and had oversight and grant the City Council who gave a tent for the event.

"The ninth edition of Lunch motorcyclists who recently conducted the Moto Club pilareño Horadada 12 +1 gathered in the hall tent enclosure Andres Murcia Widows Park more than three thousand fans to the two wheels. A day filled with gifts and no surprises in the musical atmosphere lacked the drawings as well as various gifts and the expected performance of the go-go dancers"Reported the website of the City Council last week.

The "expected go-go dancers" danced in public, stripped down and up staged the show with a volunteer who stopped playing and stripping two feet of several girls who watched the show.

The Office investigates a possible crime of indecent exposure or sexual provocation and City Hall, severely criticized by the opposition, deck remove subsidies for future editions of the event. Meanwhile, the company which organized the festival, the Moto Club 12 +1, recalls that it has received complaints from their guests.

"All the children who went to the exhibition were accompanied by their parents and when the girls were doing the striptease was announced over the loudspeaker. The responsibility of a child's parent"Says one participant.

Residents of Bukit Antarabangsa add to the chorus of calls to release landslide report so that safety options can be considered.

A resident, Dr Mohd Rafick Abdul Rahman who was visibly upset, made an emotional plea to the government to declassify the report and said it would help change their lives drastically and said,"When we wake up in the morning and go to work, we worry about their safety, especially whenever it rains...I don't understand why politics is causing havoc to our lives."

I'm on fire today! Two very productive calls to Malaysian government departments — both conducted completely in Malay (yay for fluency!) — and look at this, two blog posts. After my conversation with a surprisingly friendly and helpful officer at the National Registration Department, I called the Immigration Department to see if I could get some more information about the government's recently-unveiled plans to give PR status to foreign spouses of Malaysian citizens. The extension listed on an Immigration document I have at home was wrong, so I got some lady in the Student Visa section who had obviously been sleeping when the phone rang. She drowsily sent me back to the main switchboard, and I was finally connected to someone in the Entry Permit Section.

Now, I'm pleased with my fluency in Malay — at least it's better than a few years ago, when the prospect of speaking Malay on the phone scared the hell out of me — but I have to admit I didn't understand this guy as well as the guy at the National Registration Department. I think maybe my fluency diminishes as my morning coffee wears off. But I did manage to ask him all the questions I had, and I did get fairly comprehensible answers to those questions. Just for the record, if I didn't understand something he said, I asked him to repeat and/or clarify. So here's what he told me:

The good news is, eligible foreign spouses can apply for PR immediately. The Immigration officer said I could go and get the forms tomorrow morning if I want. However, here's the catch: even under the new initiative recently unveiled as part of next year's budget, foreign spouses will have to wait six years before they're eligible for PR. That is, if you're married to a Malaysian and you want PR status, you'll need to have lived here for at least six consecutive years, during which you were either under the now-defunct Spouse Programme or an equivalent.

Is anyone really surprised that there's a catch? I'm certainly not. That's Malaysia. There is a bit of hope though, as the officer said time already spent in Malaysia before this new initiative does count, even the years I spent under the old Spouse Programme. That contradicts what I was told on my last visit to Immigration, which was basically that I still have to wait six years because the Spouse Programme's replacement is new and I'm starting from scratch. I really, really hope the new initiative means my previous visas count, because that would mean I really could apply for PR right away. But again, I have to look at this with a skeptic's eye and assume there's a big chance they'll tell me I can only apply in 2015, six years from the time I got my current pass. I'm sure they'll find a way to make me start from zero, because they've done it several times already.

For foreign spouses who just got here, or are about to move here: you'll definitely be waiting a while for your PR.

So that's it, straight from the source. If I get any more information, I'll be sure to share it here in my blog.

Some of you may know by now that Leen and I are expecting our second child (you can call him A2 for now) sometime in March. That means I'll be doing all that baby stuff again, which includes not only sleepless nights (woohoo, can't wait) but also a visit to the National Registration Department to get our child a birth certificate. I blogged about the registration of Alisdair's birth here. If you don't want to read that post, here's a summary: the form asked for both my keturunan and Leen's; since keturunan means ancestry and my ancestors migrated to Canada from Scotland, England, France, and Ireland, I put European on the form. Traditionally, children in Malaysia (at least in the dominant Malay culture) have taken on the ethnicity, religion, etc. of their fathers. So technically, at least according to his birth certificate, Alisdair is not Malay but European.

As someone who's interested in culture, history, and genealogy — and as someone who spends way too much time thinking about things when most people would have just moved on — I've spent the last few years wondering about the choice I made that day, identifying myself and my son as European. After all, he's never been to Europe, and the only time I've ever been there was a brief transit through Stockholm on my last trip home in 2005. I suppose if I had to choose just one population to identify with in terms of ancestry, I'd just go along with what the MacVays have been identifying themselves as for several hundred years: Scottish. But I went with European anyway, since it's also technically true. I certainly wasn't going to go with Caucasian or White or anything like that.

Well, it turns out European is exactly what the Malaysian government considers my ancestry to be; the National Registration Department would have put that into their system even if I had put Scottish or Canadian (which one could argue is a good label for my ancestry, though it's more accurately my nationality) on the form. I know that because fellow blogger Bin Gregory recently visited the NRD/JPN to register his youngest son (his seventh child, I believe). Here's what he told me:

JPN has redesigned their birth certificates again. For the first time, the race of the child is listed right on the cert. As you know, in the past it listed the race of the mother and father but not the kid, leaving the child's race undetermined. Well not anymore - the kid takes the father's race and now I have my first official European child, haha, though in fact the JPN told me all my kids are in the computer as Euro. Just thought I'd tell ya, in case you were as confused as I was about it. I asked to be listed as American, but that's not a recognized category, apparently. I don't suppose Canadian is either. :-)

So I guess I made the right choice in identifying myself as European, since that's what all 'white' parents of Malaysian children are labeled with anyway. But Bin Gregory's experience did leave me somewhat confused. When I registered Alisdair's birth I already suspected that the lack of space for his keturunan on the form meant his would just follow mine, but I was never really sure. Leen and I always assumed — or rather hoped — that the lack of an official keturunan for Al meant we could get away with identifying him as Malay. But again, we were never sure. With this new information, it seemed we had our answer: all 'white' parents are European by default; children inherit the keturunan of their fathers by default; therefore, Alisdair is officially European, not Malay. OK, fair enough (he's still got bumiputera status anyway, by virtue of having one Malay parent), but I needed to be sure. So I went straight to the source.

Today I called the National Registration Department and asked someone there the following questions: 1) Do all 'white' parents of Malaysian children have European as their keturunan? 2) Do children automatically follow their fathers? 3) If a child's ancestry is European, does that mean the child is officially non-Malay, even if the child's mother is Malay?

1) According to the friendly officer who spoke with me (I didn't get his name because I'm really horrible at remembering to ask for names like that, and even worse at remembering them), yes, all 'white' parents of Malaysian children are automatically European. It doesn't matter what they enter for their keturunan, because in the department's system they're on file as European. That's why Bin Gregory was told all of his children were in the system as European, even though that's not what he'd listed as his ancestry. Whether you're American, Canadian, or actually one of the various flavours of European, you're European to the Malaysian government. As long as you're 'white' anyway. Asian ancestries are broken down (Malay, Chinese, Indian, etc.) but those from outside Asia are put into larger groupings. So if you're American, Canadian, European or whatever, and you happen to be black, well then your ancestry will probably be in the system here as African (though that's just an assumption, since I didn't specifically ask about non-white foreigners).

2) Yes, children automatically follow their fathers. So if my ancestry is European, my children are considered European as well. However, that's just the default. For more information on that, let's look at the answer to the next question.

3) Yes, if the father's ancestry is European, and the child is officially European as well, then the child is not Malay. Bumiputera, yes, but not Malay. However, like I said above, that's just the default. This is where the reasoning for specifying the child's keturunan on the birth certificate comes in: parents can now choose to have their children be officially identified with either of their ancestries. So when our next child is born, I'll be European, Leen will be Malay, and A2 can be either one. I'm not completely comfortable with this, as I would prefer to have both lineages count towards his ancestry (even if that meant he would be put into the system as Eurasian). But it's good news for anyone who really wants their kids to be 'officially' Malay. We're still undecided. I mean, Al (along with his future adik) is for all intents and purposes Malay, no matter what label the government puts on him; plus, like I said, he's also a bumiputera, which will come in handy. What we need to figure out is whether or not there's any real advantage to being not just Bumiputera but a Malay Bumiputera. Being a Muslim and a Bumiputera should mean our kids will have plenty of opportunities and privileges even if they're not technically Malay (opportunities and privileges which ideally all Malaysians would enjoy, but I'm thinking as a parent here).

But there's a catch: children born before the introduction of the new birth certificate are considered to be of whatever ancestry their fathers are; to change the official ancestry of a child born before the new birth cert came out, parents have to apply to the National Registration Department. The officer I spoke to reminded me that there's no guarantee such applications will be approved. So it's quite possible that if we choose to register A2 as Malay, we'll have one European kid and one Malay kid, even though both have the same parents. That would be a bit strange.

There were at least 200 of us, Boy Scouts, Venture Scouts and Girl Guides, forming a horeshoe around the bonfire. The healthy flames rose four or five feet. The bakau wood popped and crackled. From where I was standing, I could feel the heat on my face. We were all basked in a glow of orange, singing and clapping merrily. That is what I remember most about my Scouting days.

Until today, I can still sing some of those songs that we sang during Jamborees, JOTA (Jamboree On The Air) campfires and gatherings. These events were organised by the various Scout troops Girl Guide companies in the disctrict. Among the songs that have stuck in my mind are Ging Gang Goolie, Brownsea Island, Millipede Dance and This Little Scouting Light.

The ducks at Sentul Park reminded me of my favourite campfire songs – Two Little Ducks. It is an action song. We would all walk in Indian file mimicking the actions in the lyrics. Those we the days. How I miss them so. At one stage, I spent so much time in Scouting activities that Dad became worried that I was neglecting my studies. He was right. I did not do that well in SPM. Still, I have no regrets. Those were the best days of my schooling life.

Two Little Ducks

Two little ducks that I once knew Fat one, skinny one, two by two But the one little duck with a feather on his back He ruled the others with a quack quack quack

Down by the river he would go Wiggle waggle wiggle waggle two by two But the one little duck with a feather on his back He ruled the others with a quack quack.

Recently there is a mutated virus from H1N1 spread within the blog communities... what virus is that? hehehe... it's H10N10.

As of Dec 2nd 2009, i observed that the H10N10 virus has slowly disappeared... everything was back to normal. will another wave is coming to hit us soon? or H10N10 just totally disappear from the blog communities which we could celebrate?... Anyhow, preventive is always better than cure said all the doctors out there... Ooops, is there a cure for H10N10?... maybe we should ask the very first person that spread the H10N10, he might be able to help the communities.

So what is H10N10 exactly?

The H10N10 was discovered among Malaysia bloggers. This virus has been seen lots of the blogs... i have no idea how many percent of the bloggers have infected by this virus. No idea of who is the very first person that bringing this virus to the communities... Maybe some of you can help to answer this questions :)

The symptoms of H10N10 is that infected person click into the blog entry and leave multiple comment back to back... the number of comment usually is 3 and above... Besides, the H10N10 infected person will also get so excited whenever they were the 1st to comment and just leave "1st" in comment as the 1st commenter in the list followed by his or her list of comments back to back.

Now you know what is H10N10...Do you have this symptoms?Are you infected by this virus?How to Cure? Ask the Very first person

Our programme for this year's World AIDS Day is scheduled to be on Sunday 6th December. But we usually have our own internal activities on Tuesday nights, be it meetings or fellowship gatherings, and last night we had our fellowship night to coincide with World AIDS Day. We call it the Buddies 1 Malaysia Night - to celebrate all the major festivities in Malaysia - Raya (both), Deepavali, Christmas, New Year etc. Our decor, although simple, covers all the festivities... there's even a small Christmas tree at the corner!

The guitar was not only for decor, but used later for live entertainment.

It was just a simple affair held at our centre, and just to make it slightly more interesting, we fixed a theme. The last fellowship night we had 2 years ago, it was Sarong Night. This time we opted for Fancy Headgear. So how did I end up? Well, let's just say I used the same thing I used the last time ie the sarong, and used it as a headgear instead! Oh, I took the liberty to find a sarong which matches my baju and tudung!

Me in striking colour so as not to be mistaken as a Taliban!

I brought along the small scarf we got as souvenir during the opening of ICAAP in Bali in August, in case somebody decided to come without wearing any headgear. We wanted to make it a point that we meant what we said that everyone MUST come in a headgear. Well, not one, but three of the volunteers came without any headgears! My spare Bali scarf went to the first guy who came without any headgear, so he tied the scarf around his head. As for the other two ladies who came without headgears, well, we used the leftovers of our decors and decorated their heads instead!!

14 volunteers turned up out of the 20 over volunteers that we have. And oh, our patron turned up too, bringing along some food as well (including some nice big prawns) to add to whatever we already had on our menu - putumayam, mutton curry, satay, mee goreng, and some desserts including the yummy mango cake.